The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Workshop on Business Contingency

20 Jan 2006

By Mr Khaw Boon Wan, Minister for Health

Venue: The Shangri-La Hotel

I am here to share with you Singapore's flu pandemic preparedness plan and its relevance to the business community. This is a big topic, but I am only given 10 minutes.

So I will not go into the details. Instead, let me highlight ten points which have guided our preparation. We can then elaborate further during question time according to your interests.

First, we recognize that a flu pandemic is a catastrophic event. For those of us who have gone through SARS, we do not need to be persuaded on this point. Influenza is expected to be more infectious than SARS. H5N1 has so far appeared to be deadly to humans. So if an H5N1 mutant becomes more infectious than SARS while retaining its deadliness, it will be a very difficult situation. 

Hence, we should all take this threat seriously, both nations and corporations alike. Early and serious preparations are an insurance policy worth paying for.   

Second, prevention is better than cure. If we can prevent this catastrophe from happening, we should. But can it be prevented?

H5N1 is already endemic among wild birds and domesticated poultry. Fortunately, it has not yet mutated sufficiently to be also infective among humans. Current human cases are still results of direct infection from chickens to humans, not yet from human to human. To prevent a human flu pandemic, farms should quickly upgrade farming practices and wet markets should stop risky practices like slaughtering of live poultry. We must bring pressure to bear to change these old but unhygienic practices, or the public health risk will always be with us. This time it may be chicken; next time, it will be something else. Companies engaged in farming have a direct role to play here. Multinationals with investments in the region can help to persuade the governments to bring about such reforms as soon as possible.

Third, if the disaster cannot be prevented, then the next best thing is early alert, so that appropriate response can be mounted speedily before the virus spreads more widely. This requires an effective monitoring and surveillance system, both in the detection of flu among birds as well as among humans. This requires cooperation of and active participation by the farmers. Often this  boils down to proper compensation for farmers who report on their sick chickens. Without that, who would report such incidents to their local government?

Such an open transparent policy also requires buy-in from other businesses, particularly those in the tourism sector. They will not welcome bad news as they fear the loss of tourists. But if an outbreak already exists, covering it up will only allow the outbreak to become more widespread, leading to even greater losses and a more prolonged crisis. Fourth, apply science and technology in our arsenal against this threat. Scientists and pharmaceutical companies should cooperate intensively to develop better diagnostic kits, anti-virals and vaccines. If we are left to fight this modern virus using basic tools, we are naturally handicapped.

This point pertains particularly to the developed countries, their scientific community and their pharmaceutical industry. They have an important role in this fight.

Fifth, preparedness plans are useless unless they are regularly updated, exercised and internalized.  And increasingly, we must conduct regional exercises among neighbouring countries because cross-border cooperation and sharing of information are important elements in any regional preparedness plan. I was in Hong Kong and Macao last week to learn about their flu pandemic exercises. I asked my counterparts to allow us to observe their future exercises, and invited them to our exercises when we next mount them. They agreed readily. I hope to do the same with our immediate neighbours.

Sixth, be humble. Viruses are formidable enemies. They are older than humans and have survived for ages. They will try to out-live us. Reality will therefore surprise us, and no flu pandemic will progress as planned. The practical approach is to concentrate on the basics and stay flexible in our response.

We must be prepared to modify ground plans as new situations arise and as we learn with the disease's progression. We need to be nimble, learn fast, and apply science as we deal with the spread of the disease in the community.

The planning and preparations are but steps for us to react quickly, but we should not be enslaved to them when faced with new realities and surprises. This was so during SARS and this will certainly be so at the next crisis.

Seventh, stay united. We are in this together. Viruses will exploit our weakest links. Thus, fighting flu pandemic requires a total approach that must involve everyone, including across international borders.

That is why we work with regional countries to share information and expertise. We are currently providing training courses, diagnostic support and equipment to help others build capacity to deal with the challenge. We are also starting a pilot project with Indonesia and the US for the control of avian flu in a designated province in Indonesia.

This seminar is an example of APEC trade ministries working together to help prepare their business community through the sharing of best practices. Similarly, within your corporations, it is imperative that all departments and staff understand and play their part to prepare for a pandemic.  

Eighth, we must nurture and retain public trust. To do so, it is critical to have a comprehensive public communications strategy to build confidence among the people. The alternative is distrust and fear, leading to speculative rumours and irrational behaviour.

Transparency is the key. This is absolutely crucial. It is better to provide more information rather than less. The public must know what to expect and we must respond to their fears, without being over-reassuring. Ninth, when the unfortunate happens, we should try to minimize its trans-border economic impact. We certainly should not make it worse than necessary. This will require the international community to cooperate in an enlightened manner. For example, in the area of border control measures, it is important that countries harmonize their border actions to avoid unnecessary adverse impact to travel and trade. With appropriate management and coordinated border screening measures, similar to what we have done during SARS, critical international activity and movement of goods and services can still be maintained. This would be crucial for corporations with international operations. The world need not be paralyzed by a pandemic if it comes together early to prepare and cooperate. Global corporations should begin to discuss with one another and their respective countries how they can work together to maintain cross-border travel and economic activities as we prepare for a pandemic outbreak.   

Finally, we must give priority to business continuity. This would require both governments and corporations to maintain constant dialogue and cooperation. One key objective is to maintain essential services so as to limit social and economic disruption. This will require an appropriate supply of anti-virals and a viable strategy to secure vaccines as soon as they become available.  

Corporations, in turn, must develop business continuity plans to safeguard the health and welfare of your workers and ensure the continued operation of your companies. They include infection control measures at the workplace, home-based working arrangements and communication strategy. 

These plans should be developed through consultations and continually improved through constant engagement and interactions. The Ministry of Trade and Industry, together with its agencies (EDB and Spring Singapore), have been engaging both the local and foreign business communities in developing their business continuity plans. Next month, Spring Singapore will launch a Business Continuity Plan Guide to help businesses to prepare for an influenza pandemic. It is important that we continue this dialogue between governments and corporations, not just in Singapore but also in your respective home countries. 

In conclusion, we should prepare early and prepare well. The better prepared we are, the more likely we will remain calm and confident, and be able to fight this threat if and when it comes.

We will work to make Singapore a safe haven. I hope that you too will build a safe haven in your own corporation.